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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. S. ASHTON.

AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR STOP. No. 831,672. Patented Dec. 1, 1885.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' J. S. ASHTON.

AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR STOP.

No. 331,672. PatentedDec. 1, 1885.

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IIIIII I l/VilfTOZ I ea, Aflorney ega 4% F NiTED STATES? PATENT @rrrca.

JAMES S. ASHTON, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES L. BARTELS, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTO MATlC ELEVATO R-STOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,672, dated December 1, 1885.

Application filed March 13, 1885. Serial No. 158,653. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, .Lmrns S. ASHTON, of Rochester, New York, have invented an Improved Automatic Elevator-Stop, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improved automatic elevator-stop, which is fully described in the following specification, and the novel features thereof specified in the annexed claims.

My improved automatic elevator-stop is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of an elevator-car, showing my improved automatic stop applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view, the top or cover being removed from the easing so as to show the sliding jaws. Fig. 3 is a central section on the line at m, Fig. 2, showing also the shifting-rope and one of the balls attached thereto in section. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing also the arrangement for stepping the car automatically at any desired floor. Fig. 5 represents the manner of supporting my improved e1evatorstop on the car of a assenger elevator. Fig. 6 is an end view of one of the balls attached to the shifting-rope.

My improved automatic elevator-stop is designed to be used in connection'with any ordi-' nary elevator; and it consists, essentially, of a suitable case or body, A, attached to the elevator-car B, and provided with a sliding jaw or jaws, O G, which are arranged to operate, in connection with the balls on the shifting-rope, to arrest the motion of the car at the desired points.

D is the shifting -rope, which extends, as usual, up and down the elevator-well, and may be arranged either outside the car, as shown in Fig. 1, or may pass through the floor of the car, as indicated by Fig. 5. The shifting-rope is connected with the operating mechanism of the elevator, so as to cause the car to ascend or descend, according as the shifting-rope is pulled up or down. The shifting-rope is provided on each story with the balls E E, so located relatively to the floors as to arrest the motion of the car at the proper point when one of the balls comes in contact with the sliding jaws G C of the automatic stop. The jaws O G are arranged to slide to and from the rope in the body A, so that the upper or lower ball, E, will pass through them, according as the car is descending or ascending; but the jaws will close again before reaching the other ball, thereby moving the shifting-rope up or down and stopping 5 5 the motion of the car in whichever direction it may be traveling. A spring, G, is applied to the jaws, so as to give them a tendency to close together.

In Fig. 2 I have represented in full lines the position of the jaws when open, the spring G being compressed and thejaws prevented from closing by the engagement of a spring-catch, or, engaging in a notch, b, in one of thejaws, or in an arm or rod, L, connected therewith. In Fig. 2 the position of the jaws C 0 when closed is represented by dotted lines.

The body A of the stop is provided with a cover, H, secured by screws, which cover is removed in Fig. 2 for the purpose of showing the jaws O O and their connected parts. The jaws O G are arranged to slide in suitable guides or ways, cl, arranged on the body of the stop. The jaws are connected together by a lever, f, pivoted at e to the body and connect ed at either end by pins passing through slots, with one of the sliding jaws and with the sliding bent rod L, which is attached to the jaw O, as indicated in the drawings, so as to cause the jaws to move simultaneously to and from the shifting-rope. The spring G is preferably applied to the sliding rod L, being located in a suitable recess in the body and bearin g against a collar, g, on the rod L. The side wall, h, of the spring-recess serves also as a guide to the 8 5 sliding jaws.

The spring-catch dis provided with a spring,

0, and a hook or eye, I, by which the inner end of the catch may be withdrawn from the notch 32 in the sliding rod L. The sliding rod 0 L extends outside the body, and is provided with a button or push, J, by pressure on which the spring G is compressed and the jaws opened, in which position they are held by the engagement of the spring-catch a with the 5 notch I).

My improved automatic stop may be attached to the elevatorcar by a rod or tube, N, as indicated in Fig. 1, in which case the body and cover above and below the stop are provided r00 with the funnels K K, which serve as guides to the balls on the shifting-rope, or it may be connected with the car by means of the tube 0, through which the shifting-rope passes, in

which case the lower end of the tube is provided with a cone or funnel, K, attached to the floor of the car by means of the flange P, as represented in Fig. 5. g

The practical operation of my improvedelevator-stop is as follows: Supposing theelevator-car at rest opposite the lower floor, and

that the elevator-man desires to ascend to the third story, he pushes inward the button J,

thereby separating the jaws G G, in which position they are held by the spring-catch er engaging in the notch b. The elevator-man then 1 draws the shifting-rope downward, by which the elevator mechanism is thrown into action and the car ascends. As the car passes the second story the balls E E on the shifting-rope will pass through between the sliding jaws without arresting the motion of the car. After passing the second story the elevator-man pulls the hook I, thereby allowing the jaws to be closed by the spring G. The jaws now come in contact with the lower ball, E, of the 2 5 two balls opposite the third story and are opened by it, allowing it to pass through between them; but they are immediately closed by the spring G, so thattheir upper sides come in contact with the flat lowerend of the upper- 0 most of the two balls, thereby moving the shifting-rope upward and throwing the elevator mechanism out of gear, so as to arrest the upward motion of the elevator-car.

The lower end of the lower ball, E, and the upper end of the upper ball, E, are made cone shape, so as to open the sliding jaws; but the inner ends of the balls have surfaces extending at right angles with the shifting-rope, or adapted to impart motion to the balls from contact with the stop or stops.

The balls E E are provided on their inner ends with the elastic rubber cushions F F, which act to reduce the shock caused by the jaws O O striking against the balls, and also prevent injury to the parts. The cushions F F are attached to the balls by providing them with projecting flanges Z,which are inserted in conical openings in the ends of the balls.

When the elevator-man wishes to descend, he pulls the shifting-rope u p, having first separated the jaws by means of the push J, and arrests the downward motion of the car at any desired story by pulling the hook I, so as to allow the jaws O O to close. The halls E E are made of such diameter that when passing through between the sliding jaws they do not open or separate sufficiently to allow the spring-catch a to engage in the notch b.

In order to permit the adaptation of my improved automatic elevator-stop to elevators already in use without removing the shiftingrope and threading it through the opening in the body, I provide the body, and the cover and funnels, if desired, with the removable segment Q, fastened to the body by a flange and screws, 1'. The removal of the segment permits the shifting-rope to be introduced into the opening in the body and- .between the sliding jaws without disconnecting the shifting-rope from its attachment to the operating mechanism of the elevator. By this arrangement my improved elevator stop may be readily applied to any elevator already in use.

It frequently happens that a person on one 7 5 0f the floors of a building desires to send the elevator-car to some other story, either higher or lower, without himself riding on the car. In order to accomplish this result, I connect to the spring-catch a a lever, S, provided with an adjustable contact-piece, U, Fig. 4, and attach to the side or casing of the elevatorwell a series of lugs or projections, m m m, arranged out of line with each other on the different stories, which projections operate the catch so as to insure the'stoppage of the elevator-car at any desired story, according to the position of the contact-piece U on the lever S. The lever S is pivoted at w to the body or cover, and connected with the springcatch a or hook I by means of the connectinglink n. An arm, T, projecting outward from the body, sustains the slotted guide 19, in which 1 the outer end of the lever S plays. The arm T also carries the indicator, by which the po 5 sition in which the contact-piece should be set in order to cause the car to stop at any desired story is shown. Thus, supposing the elevator-- man desires to stop the car at the third story, he adjusts the socket or contact-piece U, car- :00 rying the arm or projection '12, on the lever S, with the pointer s opposite the figure 3 on the indicator-arm T, and when the car arrives at 1 the third story the lug m (arranged in the proper positionzon that story) pushes the lever 1o 5 inward, which disengages the catch a and allows the jaws O O to close together so as to stop the car at that story. The socket U is fastened in any desired position on the lever by means of the thumb-screw r, Fig'. 4c. The no lugs m m and the arm '0 are rounded or beveled above and below to secure ease of action.

As many lugs m m will be required as thereare stories in the building, except in case ,where the elevator mechanism itself is provided with an automatic device for arresting.

its motion at the upper and lower stories.

R represents the side of the elevator casingv or well to which the lugs m m are attached. The lugs should be placed in the proper relation vertically with the balls E E, to insure the closing ofthe jaws at the proper time before the stop arrives at the story corresponding with any particular lug.

It is obvious that the two balls E E may be r2 5 connected together by a tube or tubular neck surrounding the shifting-rope.

My improved elevator-stop presents this important advantage over any device for a similar purpose with which I am acquaint- 1350 ed, in that it always and automatically stops the car on the exact level with the various floors of the building, and that it is simple and cheap in construction and exceedingly durable in practical use, even on elevators running at high speeds, on which Ihave demonstrated its utility by severe trials; and on hydraulic elevators it prevents the movement of the car from any leakage in the valve or the cylinder of the hydraulic mechanism.

1 claim- 1. The combination, with the shifting-rope of an elevator, of the divided ball E, and the elastic cushion or collar F, attached to the ball by means of the flange Z, inserted in a recess in the end of the ball, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the shifting-rope of an elevator, of the two balls E E, provided on their inner ends with the elastic cushions F F, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with an elevator-car, of the shifting-rope D, provided with balls E E, and the movable stops 0 0, connected together,so as to move simultaneously toward or away from the shifting-rope, substantially as described.

4:. The combination, with an elevator-car, of the shifting-rope D, provided with balls E E, the movable stops 0 0, connected together, so as to move simultaneously toward or away from the shifting-rope, and spring G, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with an elevator-car, of the shifting-rope D, provided with balls E E, the movable stop or stops 0 0, spring G, push J, and spring-catch a, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the shiftingrope of an elevator-car provided with ball E, of the sliding stops 0 C, lever f, rod H, and spring G, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a suitable supporting-case, of the sliding stops 0 C, lever f, rod H, spring G, push J, and spring-catch a, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the shifting-rope ofan elevator-car provided with ball E, of the body A, having funnel K, and supporting a movable stop or stops, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with the shifting-rope D, provided with ball E, of the body A, sliding stops 0 G, funnel K, and supporting-tube O, inclosing the shifting-rope, substantially as described.

10. The combination, with the shifting-rope D of an elevator-car, of the body A, supporting a movable stop and provided with detachable segment Q, substantially as described.

11. The combination, with an elevator-car, of the shifting-rope D, provided with ball E, and one or more movable stops, 0, spring G, spring-catch a, lever S, adjustable contactpiece U, and a series of lugs or projections attached to the side of the elevator-well, substantially as described.

12. The combination, with an elevator-car, of the shifting-rope D, provided with ball E, and one or more movable stops, 0, spring G, springcatch, a, lever S, indicator-scale T, adjustable contact-piece U, and a series of lugs or projections attached to the side of the elevator-well, substantially as described.

13. The combination, with an elevator, of a series of lugs,m m, arranged out of line with each other on different stories, and an adjustable contactpiece applied to the car and arranged to operate the shifting-rope by suitable mechanism, whereby the motion of the car is arrested at any desired point, substan tially as described.

JAMES S. ASHTON.

XVitnesses:

GEO. B. SELDEN, L. A. KANE. 

